FirstUp: PM Modi in Goa, Nawaz Sharif to hold rally... Today's big stories

It’s Tuesday. And there’s plenty of big news ahead. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Goa to inaugurate several developmental projects. The Reserve Bank of India’s three-day monetary policy committee meet begins today. The Allahabad High Court will hear a plea from the Gyanvapi Masjid committee challenging a Varanasi district court order allowing Hindu prayers in a cellar of the mosque. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is likely to enter Odisha. And across the border, Nawaz Sharif will hold a PMLN rally on the final day of election campaigning. Let’s take a look at today’s big-ticket stories. PM Modi in Goa Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay foundation stones for various projects during his visit to Goa on 6 February. The projects to be inaugurated by Modi include the National Institute of Technology campus at Cuncolim, the Indian Institute of Water Sports in Dona Paula, Commandant Navy College at Betim, a Solid Waste Treatment plant at Curchorem, and a 100 MLD water treatment plant at Selaulim Dam. The prime minister will also lay the foundation stones for the Ropeway project coming up at Reis Magos Fort near Panaji and a 3D building to be constructed in Patto. Beneficiaries of various government programmes, including My Bharat, Common Citizen Center, Gramin Mitra, Forest Rights Act and others, will be felicitated at the function to be attended by the prime minister. RBI monetary policy meet The Reserve Bank of India is set to hold its bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting today.

The three-day meeting will conclude on Thursday with the central bank announcing its monetary policy.

The bank had in December decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the fifth time in a row. Das in December said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. [caption id=“attachment_13302802” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The bank had in December decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the fifth time in a row. PTI[/caption] He said the MPC will remain “actively disinflationary”. The central bank has attempted to maintain a tight grip on inflation. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes, aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. Allahabad HC hears masjid committee plea The Allahabad High Court will hear the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee’s plea challenging an order of a Varanasi court allowing Hindu devotees to offer prayers in the cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. The Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee manages the Gyanvapi mosque and looks after its affairs. The committee had moved the high court within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear their plea against the Varanasi district court’s order and asking them to approach the high court. The Varanasi court had on Wednesday ruled that a priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. Nyay Yatra to enter Odisha The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is likely to enter Odisha today through the Sundergarh district. The state Congress would accord a grand welcome to Rahul in Biramitrapur at the Odisha-Jharkhand border on the night of 6 February. Besides Sundergarh, the Yatra would travel through Rourkela and Jharsuguda, before leaving the state for Chhattisgarh, state Congress president Sarat Pattanayak said on Wednesday. “Rahul will tentatively arrive at Biramitrapur on February 6 night. The next day he will hold a roadshow in Rourkela, Gadagaon and Uttara. He will have a night halt in Jharsuguda on February 7,” Pattanayak said. “On February 8, he will lead the Yatra to Belpahar, Hrudaynagar and Kanaktara, before entering Chhattisgarh. All the programmes will be finalised very soon,” he added. On 29 January, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge addressed a mega rally in Bhubaneswar. Pattnayak said more leaders of the party will visit Odisha in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls and assembly elections, which are held simultaneously in the state. The yatra, which began from Manipur on 14 January, is at present in West Bengal. It will culminate in Mumbai on 20 March after crossing 15 states Nawaz Sharif holds rally on final day of campaign Will Nawaz Sharif return as Pakistan’s prime minister?

The PMLN chief is set to hold a rally on the final day of campaigning for the Pakistan general election.

Sharif returned to the country last October after four years of self-imposed exile in London to avoid serving prison sentences. Within weeks of his return, his sentences were thrown out and his convictions overturned. His archrival, former prime minister Imran Khan, a cricket hero turned Islamist politician who was ousted in April 2022, is behind bars and banned from contesting the vote. [caption id=“attachment_13454332” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Nawaz Sharif returned to the country last October after four years of self-imposed exile in London to avoid serving prison sentences. Reuters[/caption] Some experts say the undoing of Khan and the resurrection of Sharif have given the impression of a predetermined outcome, and “it may be too late to change that perception." On this day… On 6 February, 2023, a series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria left over 55,000 dead. The magnitude 7.8 quake hit southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by strong aftershocks. As Turkey marks the first anniversary of the quake people living in the hardest-hit regions are grieving deceased family and friends, struggling to rebuild livelihoods and grasping for closure in cases where loved ones are still missing. Unemployment is rampant and roughly a quarter of families in the affected region rely on charity, according to the Red Cross. Many remain afraid to return to the homes that they fled. With inputs from agencies